Statement by 

H.E. Mr. Majid Takht Ravanchi

Ambassador and Permanent Representative

of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations

At the High Level meeting of General Assembly on

Financing for Peacebuilding 

New York, 27 April 2022

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

Mr. President,

At the outset, I would like to thank you for convening this important meeting. We consider today’s meeting as a valuable initiative to explore and consider options for addressing financing gaps for prevention and peacebuilding in the context of fast-changing, protracted and increasingly complex violent conflicts.

Distinguished Colleagues 

Recent developments around the world point to the need for accelerating and deepening conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. In fact, the changing nature of conflict, which is driven largely by a range of complex political, social and environmental factors, has made peacebuilding and sustaining peace more critical for the international community. Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the challenges by adding unprecedented stress on pre-existing vulnerabilities across the globe. In such circumstances, the PBC as a unique platform plays a significant role in sustaining international attention and providing political accompaniment by bringing together national actors, UN agencies, regional and sub-regional organizations, civil society and international financial institutions in support of nationally-led peacebuilding efforts.

It is our conviction that the principle of national ownership should consistently remain at the epicenter of peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts. In this regard, the role of the United Nations and other international stakeholders in this process is that of providing support to countries, with their consent, when needed. Such support should be based on helping affected countries build the capacity to overcome and prevent a recurrence of conflict.

The Peacebuilding Fund as a vehicle that fosters local participation and strengthens domestic resource mobilization and capacity-building has a major role in supporting peacebuilding activities. Therefore, we call for greater synergy between PBC and PBF as well as coherence between all stakeholders including UN Agencies, International Financial Institutions, local and regional institutions to effectively implement the peacebuilding priorities. 

We recognize the importance of providing greater resources to the Peacebuilding Fund, in order to contribute to the preservation of the results achieved after the Peacekeeping Missions and Special Political Missions have ended. In this regard, we underline the importance of adequate, predictable and sustained financing for peacebuilding, by considering all financing options including but not limited to assessed contributions through innovative means.

In conclusion, I would like to express hope that today’s meeting could result in an action-oriented outcome that contributes to overcoming the financial challenges of UN peacebuilding and sustaining peace efforts. 

I thank you Mr. President